Something is killing my Corydoras!!!!

This is a discussion on Something is killing my Corydoras!!!! within the Beginner Freshwater Aquarium forums, part of the Freshwater Fish and Aquariums category; -->
Originally Posted by bettababy
I would suggest watching all corys in that tank very carefully. If you have a quarantine available this would be ...

I would suggest watching all corys in that tank very carefully. If you have a quarantine available this would be a good time to get it ready. There is a good chance this started out as a virus, for which there is no treatment... however, the obvious bacterial and fungal infection can be treated. (about a 75% success rate) This is common in corys in some areas, and the very reason why all fish should be quarantined for at least 2 wks before going into a main tank with other animals.
Take note of the store these fish came from and do not buy anymore corys from there in the future. If all of the tanks in the store run together with filtration, use the same nets, cups, etc in all tanks, or even have employees going from one tank to another without sterilizing hands and such first... then you don't want fish from any of those tanks.

If you wish to treat the remaining corys in a quarantine tank as a preventive, please let me know and I can talk you through it. It is best to catch these things before they get as severe as in the photo, because by that state it is usually too late, the fish are too far gone to survive even with medication.

Please keep us posted.

I am very sorry it took a while to post, but I would really appreciate any help you can give. It's very upsetting to me that this is happening. I've trusted this pet store for many years and go out of my way to purchase fish. BUT, I've lost another. Whatever this is, it has spread to all of my Albino Corydoras. The latest one to dye had no markings on it at all. I've moved them over to a 10 gallon sick tank and I have many medications, Mardel Maracyn, Maracy II, as well as others to treat about anything. Now if you can please just help me diagnose what the heck this is and how to treat it, I would forever be greatful.

The most effective treatment I can offer for this is a combination of kanamycin and nitrofurazone. If you need help finding these meds let me know and I can help you with that. If you need me to help you sort out the meds you currently had, let me know that too, and provide me a list of what you have on hand.

The kanamycin and nitrofurazone combination is similar to the only med that I know of that can effectively beat this type of infection in corys safely (Spectrogram) but the company that used to make the med is no longer in business. The only way to replicate it is to work with the basic ingredients in it, which I have named here. Use both meds according to directions but do not mix them together before adding them to the tank. Dose both at the same time. Do not substitute other meds for either of these, not all meds are safe to use together.

Please keep in mind that this is not a 100% cure rate even with these meds. If this is what I think it is, the original illness is viral, for which there is no treatment. This med combination will treat secondary bacterial and fungal infections that result from the virus, and which are typically responsible for the deaths. It is not the virus directly that kills the fish.

Be sure to remove all carbon from your filter before dosing any medication.